Brown may be the new black — but brands are the new cults. Amy talks to CUNY professor, author, and ex-marketing executive Dr. Mara Einstein about how brands exploit cult-like marketing tactics to get us to buy, particularly during events like Black Friday. They discuss the real reason brands pushed Christmas shopping before Halloween (!) this year; how brands get us to buy in a world where we're increasingly disconnected from each other; why the "attention economy" is really the "anxiety economy"; and more.

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro to Dr. Mara Einstein and her research

00:52 - How brands are like cults

04:43 - How the luxury industry employs scarcity marketing to get people to buy things like Birkin bags

06:59 - The power of scarcity marketing

09:52 - How the economic blackout might affect retailers on Black Friday in 2025

12:45 - How brands like Lululemon and Cos harvest your data

16:54 - Why the "attention economy" is really the "anxiety economy"

19:47 - How brands "rage bait"

28:32 - How fashion marketing got people to buy Lucky Strike cigarettes in 1934

35:03 - Dr. Einstein weighs in on the de-influencing trend

Links & resources:

• Amy Odell's ⁠Back Row newsletter⁠

• Get Dr. Mara Einstein's book: ⁠⁠Hoodwinked⁠ How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults⁠

• Listen to Dr. Einstein's podcast, Hoodwinked ⁠in Apple or ⁠Spotify⁠

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